To kick off the first official episode of the podcast, we're going back... All the way back... To 2009 and the trip to led us to start Tortuga Backpacks.

You may have read our About page or heard one of us give a 30 second elevator pitch about why Jeremy and I started the company.

Now, you can hear the full story: why we went, where we went, and how we pulled off a two-week trip without any planning.

Most importantly, what was so bad about our backpacks that we had to start a company to fix it?

In This Episode

• 07:53 Who are Fred and Jeremy?
• 18:03 The trip that inspired Tortuga Backpacks
• 24:22 Why most luggage doesn't work for international travel
• 36:00 Frankfurt: actually a fun city
• 38:09 Prague: our favorite stop on the trip
• 42:05 Budapest: touring the Terror House and having a soak
• 49:00 Hvar, Croatia: beach time, sea urchins, and partying in ruins
• 1:03:34 Lessons learned from the trip
• 1:09:21 Word to the Wise

People On This Episode

• Jeremy Michael Cohen
• Fred Perrotta

Links from This Episode

• ITA Software, the site we used to book $520 flights from the west coast to Europe.
• Frankfurt Hostel
• The Städel, art museum in Frankfurt
• Affentor-Schänke, aka "Sausage Square"
• Karlovy Lazne, the 5-story dance club in Prague
• Carpe Noctem party hostel in Budapest
• Terror Haza museum in Budapest
• The Lives of Others
• Szechenyi Baths in Budapest
• Heroes Square in Budapest
• The 4-Hour Work Week, the book that gave us the confidence to turn our idea in to a product

Word to the Wise

• Jeremy: Asana
• Fred: Determinate Optimism from Peter Thiel's Zero to One

Thiel inspired the Peter Gregory character HBO's Silicon Valley. Here's a clip on the value of college.

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Feedback and Questions

If you have any feedback about the show or questions for us to answer on the air, email: podcast at tortuga backpacks dotcom.